The Air Force Association today announced that registration for CyberPatriot IV is now open, and is inviting students from all high schools or accredited home school programs in the United States to participate. No need to rush, however, as registration will be open through October 8, 2011, though space is limited.
Established by the Air Force Association, CyberPatriot was created to inspire high school students toward careers in cyber security or other science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines.
CyberPatriot offers valuable skills for students, providing hands-on learning about technology and cyber defense, emphasizing teamwork and leadership, and exercising skills in problem-solving and critical thinking.
CyberPatriot provides students interactive learning while competing virtually against their peers. In the preliminary rounds, students learn to defend computer networks from real-life computer threat scenarios. Participants compete online as their assignment is to seek out flaws in simulated computer systems while keeping specified computer functions working.
The competition has a tournament-style tiered structure, concluding with an all-expenses-paid trip to the national championship which will take place in March 2012.
The cost for entry is $350 per team which provides access to the software, participant materials and travel expenses for teams qualifying for the finals.
The most recent competition, CyberPatriot III, had 662 teams registered. The Civil Air Patrol’s Orlando, Florida Cadet Squadron was crowned the “All Service” champion and Red Bank Regional High School in Little Silver, New Jersey was the “Open” champion.
CyberPatriot is presented by Northrop Grumman, with founding partners SAIC and the CIAS at the University of Texas-San Antonio. More information can be found at www.usCyberPatriot.org.
